NEW YORK (AP) — New York state is a national leader in helping thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who have fled Central America for the United States, but more funding is needed for services that would give them a normal life, advocates told state legislators Tuesday.
Organizations that provide shelter, legal, medical or social services urged lawmakers at a state Assembly hearing in Manhattan to bolster aid for programs for migrant children. The Rev. Kevin Sullivan, who heads Catholic Charities in the New York diocese, said the state should invest about $24 million.
“By investing under $4,000 in each of these kids, we think you can build a future and create thousands of new, productive New Yorkers who are going to be contributing taxpayers to New York state,” he said.
Fleeing violence and poverty, more than 66,000 children were taken into custody between October of last year and August 2014 crossing the U.S. border, most from Central America.
An estimated 3,000 or more are in New York state and up to 7,000 more are expected this year. They are undergoing hearings to determine whether they are allowed to stay in the United States or be deported.
Officials said about 90 percent of the children coming to New York state are reuniting with parents or relatives here who have often not seen them in years.
Another draw is that New York’s immigration court has had “a very humane approach” to the cases of migrant children fleeing violent, dangerous societies, said Commissioner Nisha Argarwal of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The New York court has granted asylum in more than 80 percent of cases, compared to a national average of about 50 percent.
New York City has formed a task force to tackle what Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito calls a “humanitarian crisis.”
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